


Conan’s Gay Awakening

by VulgarMaiden



Series: Secrets & Relationships [1]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: First Meetings, M/M, POV Alternating, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25371070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VulgarMaiden/pseuds/VulgarMaiden
Summary: Ran asks her friend Aoko to watch Conan for a weekend. Kaito helps.
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Series: Secrets & Relationships [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875922
Comments: 19
Kudos: 345





	1. In which much Reading and Thinking is done

-Conan-  
Conan clutched his book to his chest, cursing his short legs- and the added weight of the overnight bag on his back- as he practically ran to keep up with the appropriately sized teenager in front of him. Ran was walking at a brisk pace along the sidewalk of a residential area in Tokyo's Ekoda district, looking for the address of someone named 'Aoko-chan'.

All Conan knew was that Ran met this 'Aoko-chan' at a Kid heist Sonoko had dragged her to at the last minute a few weeks ago. Apparently the girl had been a very 'interesting character' at the heist, not at all afraid to stand out as the only person in the crowd booing everyone's favorite thief. Sonoko, of course, took issue with that and started an argument with the girl, forcing Ran to mediate. (Conan himself hadn't gone to the heist, as he'd been at Professor Agasa's house that night).

Being the type of person she is, Ran easily befriended Aoko and the two had remained in contact ever since. Which is how Conan found himself being taken to her house early on a Saturday morning.

Ran needed someone to watch him for the weekend since her dad was in the hospital with a minor injury he'd sustained while on a case, Professor Agasa was out of town, and she needed to be getting on a bus with her karate team within the next half hour.

"Ah! There it is!" Ran exclaimed, breaking into a full on run.

"Wait! Ran-neechan!" Conan pushed himself to run as fast as his already tired legs possibly could, up the sidewalk, through the open gate, and up to the door, not taking the time to glance at the name on the gate as he passed. He reached the steps and immediately doubled over to catch his breath, one hand on his knee, one still clutching his book. 

The door opened. "Ran-chan!" Greeted a very chipper teenage girl.

"Aoko-chan, I'm sorry again for asking you to do this last minute," Ran apologized.

"It's fine! It's fine! Aoko is great with kids!"

 _An illeism?_ Conan noted, finally looking up. For a brief second he wondered if he wasn't just looking at an alternate version of Ran. The two had similar faces and exactly the same style of bangs, but, actually, that's about where the similarities ended. Aoko was shorter, and her reddish brown hair was tied back, several fly-away pieces sticking out in all directions. She was also wearing an apron and holding a spatula in one hand, apparently having been in the middle of making breakfast.

"Aoko's neighbor is great with kids too," she continued. "We'll have a great time!"

"Thank you so much for doing this," Ran said, breathing a sigh of relief. Then she started back towards the gate. "I really need to get going, I'll see you both tomorrow!" With that, she took off running again.

"See you tomorrow!" Conan and Aoko called after her in unison.

"It's nice to meet you, Conan-kun!" Aoko said with a bright smile, motioning for him to enter. "My name's Nakamori Aoko."

"Nice to meet you!" Conan automatically responded in his well-practiced child voice, while stepping over the threshold.

 _Nakamori?_ He thought, toeing his shoes off, and setting down his backpack. _That would explain why she hates Kaitou Kid…_

While Aoko-san went back to the kitchen to continue making breakfast, Conan carried his book into the living room, where Inspector Nakamori was sitting at the kotatsu, reading the newspaper while drinking coffee from a 'worlds greatest dad' mug.

"Morning, Conan-kun," the Inspector said, barely glancing up from his paper.

"Good morning," Conan replied, climbing up onto the couch.

He gave a contented sigh as he was _finally_ able crack open the newest Detective Red Jacket novel he'd bought yesterday. Several minutes passed of reading to the background noise of cooking, and the growing smell of food. He became so engrossed in his book, that he barely noticed the sliding glass door opening behind him, and Aoko-san stepping out onto the porch, until the quiet ambiance was shattered by a shout of: "KAITO!!! BREAKFAST IS READY!!!"

Conan flinched and looked up. The Inspector, however, was entirely unperturbed.

_Yikes… Is this a typical Saturday morning in the Nakamori household? I feel sorry for their neighbors… Except this 'Kaito', I guess. He must be the neighbor who's 'good with kids', that she mentioned earlier._

Conan refocused on his book. The sound of cooking in the background replaced by the clattering of dishes as Aoko-san set the table.

A few minutes later, the sliding glass door behind him was opened again, this time from the outside.

"Morning, everyone," came the voice of a teenage guy.

"Morning, Kaito-kun," The Inspector said, still not looking up from his paper.

"Kaito, introduce yourself to Conan-kun," Aoko said.

-Kaito-  
_Conan-kun?_ Kaito's eyes swept over the conjoined kitchen and living room space without spotting a single other person, meaning the person in question was small enough to be hidden by the back of the couch. _Aoko did mention she met Mouri-chan awhile ago._ He thought as he approached the couch and leaned over it, an all too familiar cowlick coming into view. _Damn it… surely he won't recognize me, right? Even if he does he wouldn't have any proof so it'd just be another Hakuba situation… not that that's any less dangerous… It's not like I can avoid him like this… I just need to be as unsuspicious as possible…_

-Conan-  
The shrunken detective could feel the back of the couch shift with the weight of someone leaning against it. Several seconds of tense silence passed while Conan pretended to be oblivious to the presence of the person looking down at him.

"Is that… the new Detective Red Jacket book?"

Conan tipped his head back to look at the teenager above him, and for a brief second, it seemed like he was staring into some kind of warped, upside-down reflection of his own face. His face as it was supposed to look.

"Uh… yeah…" he said.

"I practically stayed up all night last night reading that. It's really good," Kaito smiled.

"Are you a mystery fan, too?" Conan asked, turning around on the couch to face the guy properly.

"It's not so much that I'm a fan of mysteries in general. I just happened to get sucked into that particular series," Kaito explained with a nonchalant shrug.

"Oh…" Conan's heart sank. It seemed Kaito wasn't a Holmes fan. Oh well, they could still talk about Detective Red Jacket. _After_ Conan finished reading it, that is.

"I'm Kuroba Kaito, by the way."

"I'm Edogawa Conan."

"Nice to meet you, Conan-kun. Oh! Do you like magic tricks?" Kuroba-kun asked, his whole face lighting up with excitement.

Conan blinked. _An amateur magician maybe?_ Truthfully he wasn't a huge fan of magic, but… Kuroba-kun seemed so excited, it would be rude to say no… So Conan nodded.

"I don't actually have any tricks on me right now, but maybe later I can put on a show for you," Kuroba-kun suggested.

"Kaito doesn't have any tricks on him??" Aoko-san's voice came from the kitchen, "Kaito always has tricks!"

"I didn't know there'd be someone new to show off to!" Kuroba-kun said, turning to face his friend. He then left the couch to steal bites of food while chatting casually about his magic. Conan wasn't really paying attention.

 _Seems he's a little more than just an amateur…_ He thought, watching the other boy dodge a swing from Aoko-san's spatula, as she berated him for eating before everyone else. _I wonder if he's related to that magician Mom took lessons from… Kuroba Touichi, I think? If he's been doing magic his whole life he's probably pretty good._

An obscure thought suddenly occurred to him. _Looks like me + Magician = Kaitou Kid._ The idea of Kaitou Kid casually having breakfast in Inspector Nakamori's house was almost enough to send Conan into a fit of laughter. _There's no way! It's gotta be a coincidence._

 _Although… I suppose it is technically possible,_ He thought, as the logical part of his brain went to work. _He doesn’t seem nervous around me at all… but, Kid is a good actor… Still, Kuroba-kun seemed so genuinely excited to show me his tricks…_ Conan sighed heavily and shook his head. _It’s impossible to tell at this point. I just don’t have any evidence._

-Kaito-  
_He doesn't appear to be suspicious of anything._ Kaito thought, watching Conan out of the corner of his eye as everyone sat around the small dining table eating. In fact, the detective, seated to his left, almost looked like an actual child in that moment. Just enjoying his food, without any intense, focused expression on his face. _Did I actually manage to fool him?_

His shoulders relaxed as he allowed himself to believe he was safe, at least, for the time being. Obviously, he couldn't let his guard down completely.

"Conan-kun, would you be okay staying with Kaito for a few hours? Aoko always goes grocery shopping on Saturdays," Aoko said.

The detective simply nodded, as his mouth was full of food.

_Looks like Tantei-kun and I are going to be spending some time alone together._

-Conan-  
"So! What do you want to do?" Kuroba-kun asked, leading Conan into the living room of his own house.

"I want to read," Conan said, heading straight for the couch.

Kuroba-kun sighed. "Alright, I guess the magic show can wait till later." Then he hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe I should read too… Do you have any suggestions?"

"Holmes," Conan replied without looking up from the book he already had cracked open on his lap.

"Hmm… I read the first one a couple years ago…" Kuroba-kun murmured, eyes lifted to the ceiling as he recalled the memory.

"Really?" Conan looked up hopefully.

"Yeah… I didn't find it all that interesting…"

"The first one is a little slow…" The detective admitted, "You should try reading The Hound of Baskervilles! It's one of the best, and it's a stand-alone story too. I'm sure you'll like it, since you like Detective Red Jacket."

"The Hound of Baskervilles, huh? I wonder if my mom has that one… I'll go check." With that, Kuroba-kun headed towards the stairs.

When he was gone, Conan glanced around the living room, spotting a single, small family portrait sitting on the end table. A man and woman stood on either side of a young boy. Conan recognized the man. He'd seen the news of the tragic accident when he was around the same age as Kuroba-kun was in the picture.

 _So he is related to that magician after all… It's not proof of him being Kaitou Kid though._ Conan frowned and looked around the living room a second time. _Could I really be in Kaitou Kid's home right now?_ The thought of being in Kid's house was… uncomfortably intimate for some reason. He shivered and shook the idea from his head. _This place seems too normal for that eccentric thief, anyway. I'd imagine him living in a mansion, more like my own home. Not that it matters, I should know better than to theorize before I have actual proof._

"Look what I found," Kuroba-kun's voice interrupted Conan's thoughts. He glanced over to see the magician descending the stairs, waving a familiar book.

Conan's chest swelled with excitement, and a nostalgic smile crossed his lips as he recalled his own experience reading that book for the first time.

When Aoko-san had first mentioned a neighbor who was 'good with kids', Conan had dreaded having to deal with two people trying to entertain him with things like hide and seek, or board games, when all he wanted to do was read. But not only was Kuroba-kun letting him read, he was going to join him! That day was turning out a thousand times better than Conan had expected!

Kuroba-kun laid down on the living room floor, and opened the book. Conan resumed reading as well, eagerly looking forward to discussing both books with the magician.

Two hours and several reading positions later, Conan found himself on the floor with Kuroba, occasionally glancing over to see how far the magician had gotten.

Suddenly, his Kaitou Kid theory drifted to the front of his mind once more. _Am I really reading with Kaitou Kid right now?_ He wondered, glancing up at Kuroba. The thought was so outlandish, it actually made his head hurt. Kuroba and Kaitou Kid were so extremely different, his brain couldn't even entertain the idea of them being one person.

 _It's not like I know that much about Kid. How do I know they're really all that different? Is it the fact that I actually enjoy being with Kuroba? Or the fact that he hasn't teased me once since we met? He's so much calmer than Kid, too. Well, Kid probably doesn't act the way he does at heists 24/7 but, still…_

"What are you thinking about?" Kuroba asked, abruptly snapping the detective out of his thoughts.

"Um… I was thinking about… Kaitou Kid," Conan replied honestly.

"Oh yeah, you are the 'Kid Killer', right? Aoko's dad has mentioned you a few times before."

"What do you think about Kaitou Kid?" Conan asked, leaning forward in earnest, "I'm just wondering because… you're a magician, but you're also close with the Nakamoris."

Kuroba gave a tired laugh and a barely noticeable shake of his head. "I'd have to say my feelings toward Kaitou Kid are… conflicted. Obviously I love magic, and I really like the tricks he pulls off, but… everyone is always comparing me to him. They always say he's better than me, so… I'm also pretty jealous." He paused to sigh, running his fingers through his fluffy, gravity-defying hair. "You probably suspect me of being him, right?"

Conan gave an awkward laugh. "It… definitely crossed my mind," he admitted.

"It's okay, almost everyone seems to think I'm Kaitou Kid," Kuroba said with a resigned shrug. "Hakuba-kun is _thoroughly_ convinced. Even Aoko suspected me once. She asked me on a date at the same time as a heist just to make sure."

"Did… you go on the date?" Conan asked.

"Of course," The magician smiled. "We went to an amusement park."

Conan hummed. It wasn't the fact that Kuroba had allegedly been on a date at the same time as a heist that was beginning to really convince Conan of his innocence. It was the way Kuroba talked about Kid. He seemed so _genuinely_ tired of the suspicion, without even the slightest hint of fear that he would be discovered. Kid was a good actor, but was he _that_ good?

"So, are you and Aoko-neechan dating?" Conan asked, deciding it would be nice to change the subject.

-Kaito-  
"I used to like Aoko," Kaito admitted, looking back down at the open Holmes book, "but… recently I realized… she's not really my 'type'."

"But if… you liked her, doesn't that make her your type?" Conan asked, tilting his head to the side, eyebrows knitting together.

Kaito breathed an amused sigh through his nose. For a detective, Tantei-kun could be surprisingly dense.

"Well… I had feelings for her ever since she and I were kids. Those feelings kind of just stuck for years, and since I was so young, I never thought to question it. I just assumed I'd 'found the one'." He sighed again and shook his head. "Anyway, it's like I said. I finally realized she's not my type. I haven't told her yet, though. So don't say anything about it."

"Okay…" Conan promised.

They continued reading, but Kaito kept finding his attention drifting away from the book to the detective beside him. Tantei-kun was laying on his stomach, absentmindedly kicking his feet in the air as his eyes swept over the pages.

Kaito had never seen that side of the detective before. It was almost… cute.

-Aoko-  
Aoko returned from grocery shopping and- after putting the groceries away in her own house- went over to Kaito's house to see how the boys were doing. She entered without knocking, as she was quite accustomed to doing, and found the boys sprawled out in the living room floor, deeply engrossed in their books.

She smiled, taking her phone out of her pocket to snap a picture and send it to Ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usually I don’t post fics until they’re at least 80% finished, but I couldn’t resist posting this chapter as soon as it was done. It’s easily the best thing I’ve written so far, and I’m really excited to know if you like it too!
> 
> (However, that also means I have no idea when the next chapter will be up. I’m guessing it’ll take at least two weeks).


	2. In which a lot more Thinking is done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter focuses less on character interactions and more on, well, Conan thinking a lot.

-Ran-  
Ran collapsed onto one of the beds in the hotel room she was sharing with three other girls from her karate team. It had been a long, fun, and incredibly exhausting day.

_I should see how Aoko-chan and Conan-kun are doing_ , She thought, rolling over onto her stomach to reach over the edge of the bed and fumble blindly in her bag for her phone. When she finally found it, she brought it in front of her face, and discovered several missed messages from Aoko-chan. Rolling onto her back once more, she unlocked her phone to view them.

First was a picture of Conan-kun and some teenager (who looked suspiciously like Shin'ichi) laying on the floor together, reading. Then a picture of the two boys sitting at a table, ignoring the sandwiches in front of them in favor of having a very energetic conversation.

Ran stared at that one for a long time. She couldn't recall _ever_ seeing Conan-kun so excited, not even with Hattori-kun and she'd thought the two of them were best friends. Strange how Conan-kun always seemed to get along so well with older boys… She zoomed in to take a closer look at the Shin'ichi double. He really did look almost identical…

In the next picture, Conan was sitting on the couch, looking up at the older boy who was standing in the middle of the living room, holding… a dove? Ran squinted and zoomed in. _Magic…?_ She immediately scrolled back to the previous picture and inspected the guy's face even closer. A magician who looked like Shin'ichi? That brought back some annoying memories… Surely it couldn't really be _him_ , right?

_No…_ Ran thought, shaking her head, _I should know better than to jump to conclusions about people's identities by now…_ Embarrassing memories of all the times she'd suspected Conan-kun might actually be Shin'ichi surfaced in her mind. Seriously, how had she been so foolish? It was literally impossible for a teenager the shrink down to the size of a child. Where would the rest of his mass go?? Just thinking about it made her head hurt.

-Shin'ichi (Dream)-  
Kuroba's living room was dark, lit only by the tv. They were watching the movie adaptation of The Hound of Baskervilles, which Shin'ichi had already seen a million times.

As much as he liked the movie, he wasn't paying attention. His eyes were focused on his hands, which were fidgeting on his lap, while his mind toiled with whether or not it would be rude to scoot slightly away from Kuroba. It wasn't that he disliked being beside the other teen or anything, they were just a _little_ too close for comfort. Not to mention, Kuroba's arm was resting along the back of the couch, around Shin'ichi's shoulders.

The magician was probably too engrossed in the movie to think much of their proximity. _It's probably not intentional. Maybe I should just ignore it…_ Shin'ichi thought, trying to focus as well.

He drew in a soft gasp at the sudden feeling of Kuroba's side pressed against his arm, radiating warmth through his whole body. Had the magician shifted closer? He hadn't felt any movement… Seriously, why were they sitting so damn close? There was a whole couch available to them.

Finally deciding to say something, he turned towards the other boy, and was taken aback by just how close their faces were. He could see the reflection of the movie in Kuroba's eyes. The bright light of the tv illuminated the magician's profile. He was undeniably attractive… for a guy.

_We look the same…_ Shin'ichi's subconscious reminded him, and for a brief second he could've sworn he was looking at his own face. Then he blinked, and the face was Kuroba's again.

"Done staring yet?" The magician teased, turning his head to face the detective, the tips of their noses nearly touching.

Shin'ichi's eyes widened, and a hot sensation spread through his whole body, drawing forth a shiver. Everything about Kuroba seemed to overwhelmed him- from the soft, playful expression in his eyes, to the warmth of his body, still pressed against the detective's arm- making it difficult for him to think.

"Uh… I…"

His breath hitched at the sudden feeling of the magician's forehead pressed against his own. Kuroba's breath was warm on his lips. 

_Oh… oh no… Is he going to…_

Kaito's head tilted to the side.

_Too close!! Too close!!_

The faintest brush of lips sent Shin'ichi into a panic. He flung his arms out to push Kaito away-

Conan awoke with a gasp, his body tense, and his heart pounding so hard he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. He stared straight up at the ceiling, breathing heavily under the stifling covers of the futon, and overly aware of the tingling sensation in his lips.

_What the hell was that dream just now…_

His eyes flickered to the side, toward the bed on top of which Kuroba was sleeping soundly. All of a sudden, Conan felt extremely uncomfortable just being in the same room as the other teen.

He groaned and rubbed his eyes, flashes of the dream reflecting in his mind. The details were already beginning to slip away, but the important part remained. They'd almost kissed… and the thought of it made Conan's heart jump.

What could have possibly caused him to have a dream like that about someone he'd just met? More specifically, a _guy_ he'd just met.

Conan had truly enjoyed hanging out with Kuroba yesterday. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt such a genuine connection with someone within such a short time of knowing them. He even thought he might like to consider the magician a friend, not just as Conan, but as Shin'ichi too, and hoped they'd be able to meet again when he returned to his real body. But… that didn't mean he wanted to kiss him!

Perhaps the worst part was that he'd never had a dream like that about Ran- or any girl for that matter- but it was the _second_ dream he'd had about kissing a guy. The first one had happened over a year ago, before he became Conan. It had featured one of his male classmates, a guy he knew but wasn't close friends with. He'd desperately hoped it was just a random, one-time thing, but apparently not.

_Surely it doesn't mean anything… Dreams are weird sometimes… I like Ran, so… there's nothing to worry about… right?_

He recalled what Kuroba had said yesterday, about his feelings for his own childhood friend. 'Those feelings stuck for years, and since I was so young, I never thought to question it.' The magician's situation with Aoko-san reminded Conan far too much of his own situation with Ran. _Should I question my feelings? Just… just to make sure they're real?_

His attention was pulled away from his thoughts by the sound of Kuroba rolling over on the bed. One of the magician's hands reached out to grab his smartphone off the bedside table. A second later, his head appeared over the edge of the bed, looking down at Conan.

"Oh, you're awake already. Did you sleep well?"

The detective's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at the question. "Uh… yeah…"

"Did you have a good dream?"

"I… didn't have any dreams," He lied, feeling heat spread across his cheeks.

Kuroba sat up and combed his fingers through messy bedhead, only making it even more unruly. The sight was… strangely endearing. Seeing the magician sleepy and unkempt made Conan's heart flutter in a way he'd never experienced before.

_It's probably just… a lingering… weirdness from that dream…_ He tried to reason, pushing himself up and rubbing his temples. _There's nothing to worry about._

"It's just about eight thirty," Kuroba said, moving his covers aside. "Which means Aoko might call us for breakfast at any minute." He stood.

Conan glanced up, just in time to see the magician pull his shirt off over his head, giving the detective a full view of his bare upper body.

Blood rushed to his cheeks, dyeing his entire face in a bright shade of red. The next thing he knew, it was dripping from his nose as well.

He gasped, and cupped a hand over his face. Throwing the futon covers off himself with his other hand, he got up, and bolted out of the bedroom, down the hall to the bathroom.

-Kaito-  
Kaito blinked, shirt in hand, staring down the hall which the detective had just disappeared to.

_What's gotten into him all of a sudden?_

-Conan-  
Conan sighed heavily, sitting on the floor of the bathroom, leaning back against the cupboard under the sink, and holding a wad of toilet paper under his nose. A nosebleed from looking at a guy… It was definitely a first for him, and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it.

One thing was certain. He could no longer even try to deny the fact that he was at least somewhat attracted to guys. But that raised one obvious question. Why hadn't it happened sooner, with literally any other guy? He'd been in a fair share of locker rooms and bathhouses with other guys before. What was so special about Kuroba?

The magician was definitely attractive- okay, _really_ attractive- but even more than that he was a genuinely enjoyable person to be around.

In the entire time Conan had been, well, _Conan_ , he couldn't remember ever having gotten so caught up in the moment, that he actually forgot about his unfortunate circumstances. Even with Hattori, someone who actually knew his identity, the topic seemed to loom over every conversation they had, just waiting to be brought up, either for genuine discussion, or in the form of something as small as a joke.

With Kuroba, however… it all just seemed to melt away into the back of his mind, drowned out by laughter and mystery-novel theories. The previous day, the detective had completely dropped his seven-year-old act by noon, and the magician rarely commented on things like Conan knowing big words or being 'very mature for his age'. Maybe it was _because_ Kuroba didn't know the truth- and therefore, never brought it up- that Conan himself was able to temporarily forget.

It had been extremely refreshing to spend time with someone who didn't treat him like a child. Was Kuroba like that with other kids too? _Well, if he's Kaitou Kid, then he knows I'm not actually a child at all_ , His brain reminded him. He sighed, still unable to reach a decision on that. Obviously, he _wanted_ to believe Kuroba was innocent, (especially if he really did have feelings for him), but… all he had to go off of was some good acting and his own gut feeling. So instead, he decided to ignore the issue all together.

"Is everything okay?" The magician's voice came from the other side of the closed bathroom door. "Are you sick?"

"No, I… I'm fine," Conan reassured him.

"Okay… Well, I'll be in the living room. You can just come down when you're ready."

"Okay."

That was one more thing Conan really appreciated about Kuroba. The guy never asked too many questions or pried for information. He seemed to trust him, more than one would usually trust a child. Which… would make sense if Kuroba knew his identity. Conan _really_ didn't want to think about that at the moment.

-Kaito-  
Kaito didn't know what had happened to make Conan bolt to the bathroom, but he'd sounded okay when he checked on him. Part of him wondered if it was related to the detective's shrinkage. For all he knew, being shrank could make people sick randomly. However, it wasn't really any of his business. He definitely didn't want to give Conan-kun any reason to be wary of him as _himself_.

Kaito sighed as he laid down on the living room couch. It had been strange seeing Tantei-kun first thing in the morning, especially in his's own bedroom. The detective had seemed… perturbed by something when the magician had asked about his sleep. Which is exactly why Kaito had followed up with the casual inquiry about his dreams. Judging by the expression on the detective's face, he had _definitely_ been dreaming about something interesting. 

_I wonder if it was that 'girlfriend' of his_ , Kaito thought with an amused chuckle. _Must be tough pursuing a relationship in that body._

Just then, Conan-kun entered the living room, having changed out of his pajamas into fresh clothes. Kaito sat up.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, just to make sure.

"Yeah…" Conan-kun mumbled, walking over and sitting down on the floor, leaning back against the couch. "I… thought I was sick. It ended up being nothing…"

"Well, as long as you're okay," Kaito said with a smile, reaching out to playfully ruffle the detective's hair. Tantei-kun tensed, but didn't swat away his hand like he'd expected. In fact… unless he was terribly mistaken, it almost seemed like… Conan-kun tilted his head into his touch ever-so-slightly.

_Strange…_

-Conan-  
The last few hours of their time together was spent in the Nakamori's living room with Aoko-san, which was a huge relief to Conan, since the thought of being alone with Kuroba made him very flustered. Luckily, Aoko-san and Kuroba together were extremely funny, providing a great distraction from Conan's confusing feelings.

That is, until he realized that watching the magician be lively and playful was only making him fall harder for him.

Just before lunch, Ran arrived. Conan's heart raced with anxious anticipation as Aoko-san answered the door and invited the other girl inside. And when she entered his line of sight he felt… happy to see her, but… only in the same way he was happy to see any of his friends. It didn't compare to the way his heart skipped a beat when he glanced back over at Kuroba.

He had to face the facts. His heart had moved on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is actually pretty long, so I’m going to break it up into parts and turn this into a series. There will be one more chapter in this part, and, again, it likely won’t be up for about two weeks.


	3. In which there are many phone conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated the character tags
> 
> Also, I should’ve mentioned this earlier, but this takes place before they went to London, so there never was any confession between Ran and Shin’ichi. (In the show they were technically still using flip phones in London, but I definitely wrote their phones as smartphones, but since it’s not really important I’m just going to ignore that detail.)
> 
> This chapter also lightly touches on homophobia.

-Conan-  
Conan stared up at the ceiling of Professor Agasa's living room, completely tuning out the news Haibara was watching on tv. The two of them were the only ones there at the moment.

It had been a full week since he met Kuroba-kun. A full week since he realized he wasn't exactly straight, and ever since he had begun to look at people differently in his day to day life, trying to figure out exactly what type of person he was attracted to. The evidence was overwhelming. He liked guys that were, well… exactly like Kuroba-kun. Funny, playful, intelligent, kind, and easy-going.

Looking at it objectively, it was no wonder he'd fallen for the magician literally overnight. The guy was practically perfect, which, honestly only made Conan a bit sad since his chances of ever actually dating him were _extremely_ slim. He didn't even know if Kuroba-kun liked guys!

"Haibara…" He spoke up, getting the attention of the girl sitting on the couch opposite him.

"Hm?" She hummed, taking a sip of her tea.

"Guys are hot."

Haibara paused mid-sip and glanced up at him. She seemed to contemplate his words for a moment, then resume as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.

"Indeed, they are," She agreed. "Are you just noticing this now?"

"I noticed last week," Conan sighed heavily, "and I've been thinking about it ever since…" Pleasant memories of his brief time with the magician flickered through his mind, accompanied by a tiny flutter in his chest, and a twinge of sadness. Would he ever meet someone so perfect ever again?

"So… how has this new revelation affected your feelings for Mouri-san?" Haibara asked.

"I realized I'm not actually attracted to her at all," He said. Admitting it out loud for the first time seemed to finally solidify it as a fact in his mind. "I still care about her," he continued, "but… I think the feelings I mistook for so long as romantic love are actually more of a… familial love. She's definitely special to me, but the way I feel toward Kuroba-kun is _so_ much more intense."

"I see… you were so content with the feelings you did have towards Mouri-san, you didn't realize those feelings weren't quite what you thought they were."

"Exactly…" Conan sighed.

"Have you told her?"

He shook his head. "You're the only person I've told so far. I haven't figured out how to break the news to Ran."

"You haven't even told your parents yet?"

"No, but I'm not worried about how my parents will receive it. I'm almost certain they'll be fine," he shrugged. His parents were very 'westernized' in their beliefs, which was perhaps one of the biggest reasons he had been willing to accept it in himself. His friends however… he just didn't really have any way of knowing.

He had specifically decided to start with Haibara because he knew she'd be fine with it. Despite her cold personality she was generally very accepting of anything, so long as it didn't cause any kind of problem for her. As for everyone else in his life… he wasn't quite sure. It's not like people's stances on homosexuality came up often in casual conversation. Not to mention, the very topic was treated as taboo in Japan.

Of course, he knew that _not_ telling people was an option. He wasn't under any obligation to be out of the closet if he didn't want to be. Especially since, if the media found out, it could result in a lot of unwanted attention. He was still a famous high school detective after all. But he _did_ want the people close to him to know, for a number of reasons.

For example, when he did finally figure out a way to tell Ran, he wanted to keep the amount of pain and heartbreak to a minimum for her. The last thing he ever wanted to do was make her feel like she wasn't good enough. So instead of telling her that he'd 'lost interest' or 'found someone else', he could simply explain that they were doomed from the start, because he wasn't interested in girls to begin with. She would still be hurt, but hopefully it would heal faster, and hopefully their friendship wouldn't be ruined.

"I think… I should tell Hattori next," he murmured, half to himself as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Haibara merely hummed in acknowledgement, as if Conan's situation was completely uninteresting to her.

The detective found his friend's number in his contacts and hit call, then took a deep breath as he held the phone to his ear and listened to the muted ringing.

"Yo, Kudou! What's up?" Hattori answered.

"Well…" Conan sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, scratching the back of his head and wishing he'd thought harder about what exactly he was going to say. "I… recently realized that I don't have feelings for Ran any more."

"What?! What d'ya mean ya don't have feelings for her?"

"The thing is… I'm kind of… not… attracted to girls."

"Wait, you're _gay_?!!" Hattori exclaimed.

"Kudou-kun is gay?!" A girl's voice echoed.

Conan cursed mentally and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of _course_ Hattori was with Kazuha-san.

"Does Ran-chan know?!"

"Have you told Mouri-san yet??" Hattori asked for her.

"No, I haven't," Conan said, desperately hoping Kazuha-san wasn't already calling Ran to comfort her.

"Wow… So… how did you realize it in the first place?"

"Well… I met this _really_ amazing guy last week…" Conan said, feeling all of his worries temporarily melt away as he recalled his memories of the magician again. _So this is what a real crush feels like…_

"Ya met someone? So you have a new crush?"

"I don't know… He _was_ perfect, but I don't even know if I'll ever see him again."

"That's too bad… Now I have one less thing to tease ya about," Hattori lamented.

Conan felt a vein pulse in his forehead. _Good to know it's not the homosexuality Hattori cares about, I guess…_

-Ran-  
Ran sat at the desk in her bedroom, diligently working on her homework. It was dark outside. Conan-kun- who had gotten back from the Professor's place just a little bit ago- was probably already sleeping. She knew she should get to sleep soon too, but she was sooo close to finishing.

The sudden sound of her phone ringing disrupted her focus. She glanced over at the device's screen.

_Aoko-chan…_

Ran picked up the phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Ran-chan? Aoko is sorry for calling so late…"

"It's okay," Ran assured her, "I was still awake anyway. Is something wrong?"

The other girl sighed heavily. "Aoko just learned that the guy she has liked ever since she was little is… well… gay."

"Oh… I'm so sorry," Ran said, leaning back in her chair and giving her friend her full attention.

"Aoko feels selfish being sad about someone's sexuality… She should be supportive, but…"

"It's okay to feel sad," Ran said gently. "You can't help the way your heart feels. I'm sure it won't take long for the heartbreak to ease away, and then you _can_ be supportive of him."

"That's true… Aoko hopes she can get over it fast. She doesn't want to risk ruining her friendship with Kaito."

"You're friends with him?"

"Yeah, Kaito is Aoko's neighbor and best friend. He's the one who helped watch Conan-kun."

"I see…" _So, that guy that looks like Shin'ichi is the person Aoko-chan likes…_ Ran thought. The fact that the other girl had also had feelings for her friend ever since they were kids reminded Ran too much of her own situation. _But surely there's no way Shin'ichi is gay…_ She insisted to herself.

The two girls continued to chat until Aoko-chan felt at least better enough to go to sleep. Ran decided to just go to sleep as well, the last of her homework could wait.

-Next Morning (Still Ran)-  
Shortly after breakfast, Ran was sitting in her dad's office with Conan-kun when she suddenly received another call.

At first, she wondered if it might be Aoko-chan again, but upon checking the screen, she saw it was a different friend: Kazuha-chan.

"Excuse me for a second," she said, getting up to step out into the hallway. Conan-kun simply nodded.

Ran held the phone up to her ear to answer, but didn't manage to get a single word out.

"Ran-chan! Has Kudou-kun called you yet?" Kazuha-chan asked in an urgent and… almost apologetic tone of voice.

Ran furrowed her brow. "I haven't talked to Shin'ichi in a few days…" She said, "Why?"

"Heiji was talking to him yesterday and I overheard- well, Heiji said- well… it's the kinda thing ya should hear from Kudou-kun himself," the other girl explained with a sigh.

"I-is it bad?" Ran asked lowering her voice and glancing back into the office. Conan-kun didn't seem to be paying attention, but she didn't want to risk him over hearing if it was bad, so she headed up the stairs to her room.

"Um… well, it's not really a 'bad thing', exactly… it's just… um…" Kazuha-chan struggled to find the words.

"Does it… maybe, have to do with 'relationships' somehow?" Ran asked, remembering Aoko-chan's call from last night as she entered her room and leaned back against the door.

"Erm… yeah, kind of…"

"Is Shin'ichi in a relationship with someone?"

"Nnnoooo…"

"Did he say he doesn't like me?"

"Well… no, he didn't…"

"Is he…" Ran swallowed the concern that was building in her throat and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Is he gay?"

"Uhhh… Y-you really should talk to Kudou-kun himself," Kazuha-chan stammered. "I'll call you back later. Bye!"

Ran opened her mouth to tell her friend to wait, but was cut off by the shrill beep of having been hung up on. She sighed and ended the call as well. Her stomach roiled with uncertainty and doubt. The way Kazuha-chan had avoided answering that last question was not a good sign…

If Shin'ichi wasn't in a relationship with someone else… and it wasn't that he didn't like _her_ specifically… that didn't leave a whole lot of other possibilities.

Pushing herself off the door, she trudged over to her bed and flopped onto her back. The easiest way to get an answer would be to just call Shin'ichi and ask, but… was it alright to just call someone up out of the blue to ask if they're gay??? Surely he would call her when he was ready, but there was no telling how long that would take.

Ran held her phone to her chest and stared up at her bedroom ceiling. From the way Kazuha-chan had sounded on the phone, it seemed like whatever Shin'ichi had to tell her would be the end of their feelings for each other, whether it had to do with sexuality of not. Which meant the best thing to do was probably to just accept that it was time to move on.

Her fingers drummed on the back of her phone as she contemplated her feelings. There was an unmistakable ache in her heart. She had been in love with Shin'ichi for the majority of her life and a part of her was unwilling to let go. However… that part of her actually seemed rather small.

She thought about her conversation with Aoko-chan just last night. It was comforting to know that she wasn't the only one going through heartache. 

The loud ringing of her phone caused her to heart rate to jump. She pushed herself up, looked at the screen and practically jumped to her feet to behind pacing as she pressed the answer button and brought the phone to her ear.

"Shin'ichi!!"

"Hey, Ra-."

"Are you gay?!!" The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to think.

A heavy sigh came through the phone. "So Toyama-san did tell you…"

"No, no! She didn't! I just- I guessed… based on what she did tell…" Ran sighed as well and ran her fingers back through her long hair. "Sorry… you probably wanted to tell me yourself, right?"

"Well… I suppose it doesn't really matter. It definitely made things easier for me in a way… So, how do you… feel about it?"

"I… Actually, I'm not as hurt as I thought I would be…"

"Huh… I don't know whether to be relieved or offended…" Shin'ichi mumbled. Ran laughed.

-Conan-  
Conan smiled, leaning back against the wall in the hallway. Everything had gone so much better than he had dared to hope for.

"It's funny…" Ran said, "One of my other friends, Aoko-chan, actually called me last night to tell me that the guy _she_ likes also recently came out as gay. What are the odds of it happening to both of us?"

 _Aoko-san did?_ Conan felt his heart begin beating faster. _Could it be? Is Kuroba-kun also…? Oh, don't get my hopes up!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for part two, in which Ran and Aoko decide they _have_ to set their gay friends up with each other.
> 
> (I don’t know what to call this series, suggestions welcome).


End file.
